Flecks
Flecks are small fragments of magnetic iron which can interfere with the navigational system of birds (which rely on iron to create a mental compass). They are objects used in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole book series and the 2010 film adaptation Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'hoole, primarily utilized by the Pure Ones. Characteristics In appearance, the Flecks are said to be small iron fragments; whereas in the movie, they are shown to appear as bluish crystals. Powers and Abilities In the books, the Flecks' ability is to confuse and disorient birds' navigational systems, making the affected lose sense of direction. An area of confusion can be generated by placing three bundles of flecks at different places, this being called a Devil's Triangle; similarly, in the movie the concept of the Devil's Triangle is still used, as when three large collections of Flecks are spaced equally apart in the shape of a triangle, their magnetic fields converge. History In the Books St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls collected flecks from owl pellets and kept them in their library. They had limited knowledge of Flecks and ingested them in small quantities to lessen the effects of moon blinking. However, the owls there knew nothing of their magnetic abilities. Even so, the leaders assigned some snatched owls to take the Flecks out and add them to the pile in the library, where the leaders would study them. When Soren and Gylfie were assigned to the pelletorium, they wondered what the Flecks were and what they were for. Soren asked what flecks are, but got plucked, as it was strictly against the rules to ask questions. Later, when they were trying to escape from St. Aggie's through the library, Skench came in to attack them wearing battle claws and armor, but the magnetic effect was such that she was slammed into the wall by the magnetic field, which gave the owlets a chance to escape. Bubo, the chief smith at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, reveals to Soren that Flecks were small bits of iron. Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, Digger, Eglantine, and Otulissa ended up at the Pure Ones' castle stronghold in a search for their missing ryb at the Great Tree, Ezylryb. Eglantine noticed that 3 bags of Flecks kept in the shrine had gone missing. Otulissa, who had studied higher magnetics, told them about Devil's Triangles. She also realized that the walls were made of mu metal, and Twilight tore some off. She also said that fire could destroy the magnetic powers of flecks. Soren realized the dangerous nature of such thing, so he and the others went out with shields and helmets of mu metal to burn the bags of Flecks, upon succeding they also found and saved Ezylryb. Some of the members of the parliament convened to discuss higher magnetics, a science which was important in the study of Flecks. A few, such as Dewlap, wanted to declare the study spronk (forbidden knowledge), as it was complex, and even they were only beginning to understand it. They did not reach a conclusion, but Dewlap removed all the books on higher magnetics from the library without the parliament's approval, one namely Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard. However, the band, Eglantine, and Otulissa, who overheard the conversation, agreed that spronk violated the ideals of the Tree. Soon after, Otulissa went into the library and asked for Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard, saying that she wanted it to read. Dewlap told her that it had been declared spronk, and Otulissa retorted, "WELL, SPRINK ON YOUR SPRONK!" Dewlap, shocked by the foul curse, fainted. Ezylryb later gave Otulissa the book, but Dewlap took it from her and accidentally dropped it in the sea. Soon after, the band, Otulissa, Ruby, and Martin were sent to St. Aggie's on a spy mission to see if the Pure Ones, who wanted flecks for their usage in battle, had sent spies there. They saw that Pure Ones were sneaking flecks into nests of unborn eggs. The leaders of St. Aegolius asked the knowledgeable Otulissa about them, and she provided them with a stream of "complete and utter nonsense.". A Pure One spy named Ginger snuck flecks into Eglantine's moss, shattering her (see above). Eglantine got dreams of her mother, Marella (supposed to be dead) living in a new hollow in the region known as The Beaks. She went there and encountered Nyra, disguised as her mother. Primrose, however, her best friend, thought there was something wrong with her. This was proven when Otulissa's fleck dowsing rod, which could detect flecks, revealed many flecks in Eglantine's bedding. Eglantine realized that her gizzard had been still for some time, and saw faults in her "mother." She also realized that she had to "look in her dream mum's eyes, look behind them, and find the truth." Eglantine had, in fact, gone back to The Beaks, and broke free of the effects of the flecks, seeing Nyra for who she was. At around the same time, Kludd, leader of the Pure Ones, conquered St. Aggie's, gaining the largest supply of flecks in the owl world. On a journey to the Northern Kingdoms, Otulissa memorized a copy of Fleckasia and Other Disorders of the Gizzard in the Glauxian Brothers' library, gaining much valuable information on flecks. Soren and Bubo destroyed all the flecks stationed around the St. Aegolius Canyons. Later, with the help of Skench, during the Battle of Fire and Ice, they destroyed the remaining Flecks in the library. Gallery Pellet fleck.jpg|Concept art showing a single Fleck in a pellet. Fleck beak.jpg|A Fleck grabbed by an owl's beak. Trivia *In the movie, Flecks can be found in the pellets of other owls when picked out. Category:Villainous Tools and Other Items Category:Wrong Hands Tools Category:Paranormal Category:Elementals